A SOCIAL networking site has been slammed for allowing users to preach hate against North cops and revealing officers’ addresses.

Internet phenomenon Facebook — set up to keep friends in touch — has been branded “irresponsible” for refusing to remove a group called Northumbria Police . . . what a Group ov (sic) W**kers.

One former high ranking North officer and Government adviser fears the site could put officers’ lives in danger.

Lord Brian Mackenzie said: “If they refuse to take this down it may be necessary to legislate against this as it could be inciting violence towards officers and their families.

“This is taking a big risk with officers’ lives and their families and is not acceptable. It’s irresponsible.”

The group boasts nearly 6000 members and has been reported to Facebook by the North force as well as individual officers. While the posts revealing addresses were removed, comments about officers, including libelous ones about chief constable Mike Craik, remain.

A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: “Northumbria Police have previously requested that Facebook removes this group from its pages and we are currently awaiting the outcome of this request.”

The site is the subject of many police forums and the rank and file are said to be incensed at Facebook’s stance.

One serving police officer, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “There are 140,000 police officers in the UK and if Facebook doesn’t take this disgraceful site down then there will be calls for it to be boycotted.

“Facebook needs to act responsibly on this because if an officer is injured because of incitement on their site they could face serious repercussions.”

When we contacted Facebook, which was set up in the US four years ago and has millions of users, the company said it would not remove the site because it did not contravene its policies.

A Facebook spokeswoman said: “We want Facebook to be a place where people can discuss controversial topics while at the same time respecting the rights and feelings of others.

“Controversy alone is not a reason to stop these conversations. However, in cases where content is reported and found to violate our terms of use, we will not hesitate to remove it.

“As a community, Facebook is highly self-regulating and we are committed to ensuring that all potential violations, flagged through the ‘report’ function, are handled quickly and efficiently.”